The present invention relates to a bimetallic complex which can be used as catalysts for the oxidation of hydrocarbons.
Epoxides are a general class of compounds which contain an oxirane ring. They are conventionally produced by oxidation of olefins. For example, ethylene oxide is produced by aerobic oxidation of ethylene in the presence of supported silver catalyst. However, this aerobic oxidation can not be used to produce propylene oxide from propylene efficiently. Propylene oxide is conveniently prepared by oxidation of propylene using peroxides in the presence of high valent metal oxide catalyst (J. Kollar, U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,635). Another method of preparing oxirane compound is through epichlorohydrin intermediate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,311 discloses the epoxidation of olefins using a transition metal nitrocomplex catalyst and a thallium(III) compound cocatalyst. A recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,899 discloses an olefin epoxidation process using metalloporphyrin complexes as catalyst and oxygen as oxidant in the substantial absence of cocatalyst or coreductant.